Srinagar: Mohammad Sartaj Madni on Saturday refused to take back his resignation as Deputy Speaker of
Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly, despite requests from
the Speaker and the state government.

"It seems that you have changed your heart on the
subject but I am constrained to inform that I have not been
able to change mine...," Madni, who belongs to opposition PDP,
wrote in a letter to Speaker Mohammad Akbar Lone.
Madni resigned on March 3 after Lone reportedly made
some remarks about his conduct when the Speaker had directed
the marshals to remove protesting PDP members from the House,
resulting in injuries to an MLA.

He said he was sticking to his decision to quit
because the issue of Lone`s "attitude towards me when I as
Deputy Speaker unsuccessfully tried my level to attract your
attention towards an injured MLA remains unaddressed."
"I value tremendously the honour bestowed by this
august House that elected me as Deputy Speaker but I would be
unable to do justice with my political beliefs and peoples?
mandate if I choose to continue as such...," he said.
He criticised Law Minister Ali Mohammad Sagar for
attacking PDP leadership while requesting him to take back his
resignation.

"The minister was unnecessarily trying to point
some imaginary pressures working on me," he said.
Lone had on March 5 rejected the resignation of Madni
and said he should resume his duties.

"Let us leave aside the resignation. He (Madni) should
join back and perform his routine duty," Lone had told the
House.

The state government`s representatives-- Sagar and
Advisors to Chief Minister, Mubarak Gul and D S Rana-- had
also tried to pacify Madni and urged him to withdraw his
resignation.